With the festive season, comes a variety of delicious food. Make sure you opt for the right food items which also have skin and health benefits.

Priya Bhandari, General Manager - Skeyndor India and Avleen Bansal, Make-up Artist and Technical Manager - Makeup Studio, explains the beauty benefits of beer, sake, dark chocolate, coffee, sugar, champagne and other such food items that are otherwise bad for your health.

Beer is toxic for your body, but it can be an ultimate boon for your hair. With a natural humectant activity and lustre boosting action, a beer shampoo can give your hair the shine you have always wanted. Wash once a week with beer and see the results.

Want skin as smooth as a Japanese Geisha? In olden days, the Japanese farmers noticed that when they would soak their hands in rice water all day, their hands became youthful and soft. Geishas used to use that rice water to wash their face as well. For an ultra-glow, you can add sake or rice water into your bath. The vitamin E and antioxidant boost is unparalleled.

You may not like to drink coffee, but it can really help your cellulite. When caffeine extract from coffee is added to your beauty routine, you will find that your skin tightens over time, and improving blood flow in the body.

Coffee powder can also be used as a body exfoliator. Use the grounds and rub it in circular motions on the body and then wash off. This will give your skin a smooth sheen while also tightening the skin.

Eat dark chocolate for dessert. If you're going to have dessert, why not have something delicious that is also doing you a lot of favours? It supports circulation which is good for skin and hair (and your heart, of course). It's also full of antioxidant flavones that fight sun damage and wrinkles, and research shows that women who eat a little chocolate five times a week have lower BMIs.

- IANS